Ferguson Sees Peaceful Protests The Night After Police Were Shot
A prayer vigil went off without violence on Thursday evening, one night after a 41-year-old officer was shot in the shoulder and a 32-year-old was shot in the face during a protest outside the Ferguson Police Department. BuzzFeed News reporter Jim Dalrymple II is in Ferguson.
At a candlelight vigil on Thursday evening in Ferguson. Christian Gooden, St. Louis Post-Dispatch / AP
Here’s The Latest:
- Two police officers were shot in Ferguson early Thursday morning during a protest after the police chief announced his resignation.
- The officers, one from the St. Louis County Police force and the other from the Webster Groves department, have been released from the hospital.
- No one is in custody for the shootings.
- St. Louis County Chief of Police Jon Belmar said he believed the gunman has “an unfortunate association with” the protests and called it an “ambush.” Some protesters said the shooter was not one of them.
- Demonstrators held a candlelight vigil Thursday before staging another protest outside police headquarters. Both events were peaceful.
- President Obama addressed the shooting on Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying there was “no excuse for criminal acts.”
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Updates
Protests outside police headquarters and a candlelight vigil in Ferguson were peaceful on Thursday evening, one day after two police officers were shot.
Demonstrations on March 12 Jeff Roberson / AP
Dozens of people held a candlelight vigil Thursday evening for the two officers wounded by gunfire outside the Ferguson Police Department just hours earlier.
As the AP reported:
A larger crowd of about 200 protesters gathered later outside the police department, but the scene was a marked contrast to the previous night, when fights broke out before the shootings.
“We’ll not be derailed in the pursuit of justice by anybody or anything that wants to get in our way,” said the Rev. Traci Blackmon, a member of the state’s Ferguson Commission who led the prayer vigil at a public plaza in downtown Ferguson near the police department. “We refuse to stop.”
…
Officers from the St. Louis County Police Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol were summoned to bolster security but largely stood idle in the distance. The protesters had largely disbanded by 11:30 p.m. No arrests were made.
President Obama talks with Jimmy Kimmel during a break in taping. Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live Thursday in Los Angeles, President Obama called for the arrest of the “criminals” who shot the two officers in Ferguson.
“There’s no excuse for criminal acts. Whoever fired those shots shouldn’t detract from the issue. They’re criminals,” Obama said, according to the White House pool report. “They need to be arrested. And then what we need to do is make sure that like-minded, good-spirited people on both sides, law enforcement who have a terrifically tough job, and people who understand they don’t want to be stopped and harassed because of their race, that we’re able to work together to try and come up with some good answers.”
Obama also offered his prayers to the wounded officers and their families.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said officers saw muzzle flashes about 125 yards away during Wednesday night’s shooting.
The estimate appeared to bolster reports of some protesters in a parking lot that the shots came from behind them.
Reporters at the scene, meanwhile, looked at what may have been the shooter’s vantage point.
A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the Ferguson shooter.
The reward is being offered by the St. Louis Regional CrimeStoppers — the second reward made available since two officers were injured in a shooting during a protest outside Ferguson police headquarters.
Reps. Lacy Clay and Emanuel Cleaver, both Democrats who represent Missouri, have also offered a $3,000 reward.
The reward will be given to “the first person that contacts CrimeStoppers with the information that leads police to arrest.”
Questions remained Thursday about who shot the two officers in what St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar described as an ambush.
Belmar said earlier in the day that the unidentified shooter was north or northwest of police, across the street and “embedded” with protesters. Several people in the crowd of protesters, however, said the gunfire did not come from their group and that the shooter was possibly behind them.
Though video captured the moment of gunfire, that evidence alone shed little light on the shooting. Forensic firearm expert Rocky Edwards told BuzzFeed News that he could not draw any conclusions on what type of firearm was used or how far it was fired from police due to the quality of the video.
Multiple news outlets reported three people were detained and questioned in connection to the shooting, but were released without any charges.
The three residents told The Guardian they were handcuffed by St. Louis County officers during a dawn raid at their home.
Lamont Underwood and Iresha Turner told the newspaper they were at the protest when shots rang out, and fled the area just as many other protestors did.
They denied having anything to do with the shooting.
The Guardian also identified Martez Little as one of the people detained early Thursday.
Turner also said a pistol that was kept in the home’s attic for self-defense was taken by officers.
“I feel disrespected,” Underwood told The Guardian. “I kept telling them I didn’t know anything about who shot the cop. Eventually they said they believed me.”
Gov. Jay Nixon traveled to Ferguson Thursday to receive a briefing on the situation from St. Louis County Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
In the wake of the shooting, and a request by the St. Louis County Police Department, the Missouri Highway Patrol would be sending additional officers to the city Thursday night, according to a statement released by Nixon’s office.
“I ask Missourians to join me in calling for calm in the wake of the cowardly and reprehensible ambush of two police officers who were acting to protect the public,” Nixon said.
An aerial map shows the area where two police officers were shot early Thursday during a protest outside the station in Ferguson, Missouri. Police continue to search for the shooter and investigate from where the gun was fired. Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed News
St. Louis County Police and Missouri State Highway Patrol will take control of policing Ferguson tonight.
Full release from the St. Louis County Police:
Effective this evening at 6:00 PM, the St. Louis County Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol will assume command of the security detail regarding protests in the City of Ferguson.
The Honorable James Knowles, Mayor of the City of Ferguson, is aware that the St. Louis County Police Department along with Missouri State Highway Patrol will assume command of the security detail in the City of Ferguson regarding protests until further notice.
The Ferguson Police Department has been responsible for commanding the detail after Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s State of Emergency expired in December. These responsibilities once again transition to the St. Louis County Police Department as well as the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The St. Louis County Police Department is not assuming routine policing services in the City of Ferguson, as these responsibilities are still in the hands of the Ferguson Police Department.
The family of slain Ferguson teenager Michael Brown Jr. released a statement on last night’s police shooting:
“The family of Michael Brown, Jr. condemns this morning’s senseless shooting of two Ferguson police officers.
We reject any kind of violence directed toward members of law enforcement. It cannot and will not be tolerated.
We specifically denounce the actions of stand-alone agitators who unsuccessfully attempt to derail the otherwise peaceful and non-violent movement that has emerged throughout this nation to confront police brutality and to forward the cause of equality under the law for all.
We must work together to bring peace to our communities.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with the officers injured during this morning’s shooting and their families.”
Amateur video captured from the scene last night appears to show the moment the two cops were shot.
St. Louis County Police confirm that several people have been brought in for questioning in the Ferguson police shooting. Spokesperson cannot say how many individuals have been questioned at this time, but no one has been arrested.
This is a developing story. Please check back here and at BuzzFeed News on Twitter for updates.
Additional reporting by Francis Whittaker and Tom Namako.